The first steps are always the toughest and that is exactly what the Yorkton United U14 boys' soccer team is experiencing in their inaugural campaign in the SPSL following their eighth and ninth defeats of the season, 9-1 to SUSC Titans and 3-1 to Prince Albert Celtic.
But growing pains are expected for the U14 United team made up primarily of junior aged players; especially when they are playing senior teams. "We are a junior team and we're matched up against senior teams," offered United U14 head coach Mike Jakubiec. "Physically they're stronger and faster so we have to work a little harder and sometimes your legs leave you when that happens."
There was no doubt that that is what happened in Saturday against SUSC Titans. After playing SUSC fairly even for the first 10 minutes of the game the physicality and experience of the Titans seemed to take its toll on the much smaller Yorkton club resulting in many Saskatoon goals while on the other end there were just wasted chances. "They finished every chance they had," noted Jakubiec. "We missed at least seven clear shots on net where we shot straight at the keeper and were unable to finish.
"That was the difference. I feel it should have been a 4-1 or a 9-5 result but it was closer than the score indicated for sure."
Sunday vs. Celtic
Yorkton United U14 looked to wash away the bad taste that Saturday's 9-1 defeat at the hands of SUSC Titans left in their mouths as they took on middle of the table Prince Albert Celtic.
Both teams came to play on Sunday, but it took until the 35th minute before someone found a goal as Celtic took the lead 1-0.
Celtic pushed late in the first half to make it 2-0, however strong goaltending by Shane Scharf kept the game at 1-0 Celtic.
Prince Albert managed to get another shot past Scharf, however Yorkton United also found the back of the net to keep the deficit at just one.
Late in the game United had a wonderful chance to pull even but the header shot found the post and stayed out.
Less than a minute later United had another brilliant chance to score but yet again the woodwork proved their downfall and moments later Prince Albert streaked down the pitch to make it 3-1 and end any hopes of a Yorkton comeback.
But despite the loss, head coach Jakubiec is still satisfied with the close result. "I'm pretty happy. It was a good result," suggested Jakubiec. "We had a couple of posts in the second half when we were down 2-1 and then a couple of minutes later they scored their third so it was a really even game."
Jakubiec was also happy with the way the defence played, especially in the first half when they kept the ball out of the net for over 35 minutes, which, according to Jakubiec, is "the longest we've went without conceding a goal".
Up next
The next match for the Yorkton United U14 boys' team will be Saturday, August 2 when they travel to Regina for a 4:00pm game against QCT United.
The next home action will be Saturday, August 9 at 1:00pm when they welcome the same QCT United to Parkland Mall Field.
